Morning in Eureka
by Rosepixie
Summary: A series of very short stories about characters from Eureka in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.
1. Grace Monroe

Grace rolled over in her big, painfully empty bed and looked towards the alarm clock. The glowing red numbers read 5:30 A.M. She sighed and pulled his pillow closer. As she buried her face in the soft cotton, she wondered if the smell was _her_ Henry's or if even that had been replaced by this new Henry's smell. Or were they the same? Was he who her Henry would have been without her?

In frustration, she sat up and threw the pillow at the curtained windows. How had this happened? It shouldn't be _possible_, yet it certainly explained a lot about the last few weeks! But what was she supposed to do now? Her Henry was lost to her forever, but in some complicated way, this new Henry _was_ her Henry. The physics was mind-boggling. Their entire history was lost to him, but what if she could build the new future that he claimed to want with her?

With a sigh, Grace finally gave up on getting any sleep. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet. A shower and some breakfast would help. She headed to the bathroom with determination.

Half an hour later she was standing in the kitchen cracking eggs into a bowl to make herself breakfast. Looking absently out the window in the direction of the garage she pondered. This had been her Henry's favorite breakfast. Was it this Henry's favorite as well? Squaring her shoulders and reaching for another egg, she decided that there was only one way to find out.

She needed to get to know him somehow. What would be the point in waiting? And she had liked him even with the changes for the past few weeks. Mourning her Henry seemed silly if it turned out that this Henry wasn't as different as she feared. Maybe the differences would even be more appealing.

Besides, it was just eggs. How intimate could an omelet be, really? Maybe a fresh start would turn out to be good for them. And if it wasn't going to work out, she'd rather find out now and try to save herself years of heartache. Breakfast was as good a place to start as any.


	2. Jo Lupo

The alarm went off and Jo groaned and rolled over. Before, she had always loved mornings. They were quiet and nobody bothered her. She woke up at 0600 hours every morning and few, if any, others in Eureka got up that early. Scientists tended not to be early morning people. More stay-up-all-night-figuring-out-how-to-blow-up-the-town people. Jo loved her quiet mornings. She could work out, eat breakfast, and have some time to herself before the chaos of Global Dynamics and a town full of mad scientists completely took over her day.

Since the trip back to 1947, though, mornings were no longer a pleasure. Oh, it was still as quiet and peaceful as ever (especially now that S.A.R.A.H. had agreed to leave her alone for a while after she woke up), but it wasn't relaxing. She was living in S.A.R.A.H. since Larry blew up her house and, especially after the timeline shift, the loss of home was proving to be more stressful than it should be. She was a military brat - moving shouldn't phase her, but somehow this move had shaken her up in a way that no move she could remember ever had before.

The house wasn't all, though. Every morning, Jo had to face the memory of what else she had lost in the shift. The ring stayed around her neck at all times, cool against her skin. It was a comforting proof that in some time, some place, she truly had found love. Unfortunately, it was also a painful, tangible reminder that she had lost that love forever.

As she swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her workout clothes, she fingered the ring on it's simple chain. She couldn't bring herself to take it off, but she couldn't stand how she felt wearing it either.

Jo squared her shoulders and decided to throw herself into her morning workout even more than usual to try and burn off some of those feelings. She would conquer this. She would find a way to move on. She had to.


	3. Douglas Fargo

"WELL YOU'RE A REAL TOUGH COOKIE"

Music blared from the laptop on top of the dresser. Fargo smiled and snuggled deeper under his covers for a moment.

"THAT'S OK, LET'S SEE HOW YOU DO IT"

His feet were bouncing along to the beat under the comforter.

"HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!"

As the music pounded into the chorus, Fargo leapt out of bed, throwing the covers away from him dramatically and singing along at the top of his voice.

"HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! FIRE AW …"

A loud crash behind him pulled Fargo out of his song. He spun around and tripped over the sheet that was still apparently wrapped around his feet.

"Ow …" he groaned as he pulled himself back up. A glance in the direction the crash had come from revealed what had happened. The heavy comforter had flown farther than he had intended when he threw it off. It had hit the dresser and then fallen to the floor, pulling the laptop down with it.

"Oh, no no no!" Fargo intoned as he hurriedly stumbled across the room to check on the laptop.

The computer had luckily landed on the soft comforter and seemed fine, which was a big relief. Fargo had a conference call later today with some DoD bigwigs and all of his notes were on that laptop. He was still nowhere near comfortable enough talking to the DoD people without extensive notes. Allison assured him that it would get easier, but he hadn't seen much evidence of that yet.

"Okay," he reassured himself, "that was my accident for the day, so everything will be fine now."

After pulling himself to his feet and carefully setting the laptop on the now mostly stripped bed, he headed off to shower and get dressed for the day.

"Everything will be fine …"


	4. Zoe Carter

The room was dark, despite the clock reading 9:37 AM. Oh, how Zoe loved that darkness! Having lived in a windowless underground bunker for several years, her dorm room at Harvard seemed disappointingly bright. She'd put up black-out curtains, but they were really only useful at night. Sunlight made its way in no matter what she tried and, since she wasn't used to it, she usually spent mornings fitfully trying to sleep with blankets over her head.

Boy, it was nice to visit home. She had planned a bunch of things to do, too. She wanted to see Zane, check out some cool projects that she knew were in progress at GD, see Zane, catch up with Pilar and Vincent and her other friends, see Zane …

With one last luxurious stretch, she pushed up out of the bed.

"Good morning, Zoe," S.A.R.A.H. greeted her as the lights came up just enough to let her navigate safely around the room without having to use echolocation.

"Morning, S.A.R.A.H.," Zoe responded. "Is the shower free?"

"Yes, it is. Jo left almost two hours ago and your father left about an hour ago."

"Perfect! Thanks, S.A.R.A.H."

Zoe grabbed her robe from the back of a chair and headed across the hall to shower. As she started the water and stripped out of her pajamas, she considered what to wear for the day. Something cute, but not so sexy that she'd have to listen to a lecture from her dad …

She almost bounced as she climbed into the shower. It was good to be home!


	5. Zane Donovan

Jo Lupo was standing on the other side of the glass wall glaring at him. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes flashed with fire. She wore her typical black suit, but one button from the top of her blouse had popped open, giving Zane a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage.

Zane groaned at the sight, eliciting a scowl from Jo. Just as it seemed like she was about to start lecturing him, she reached up and began to work the next button down on her blouse. Before she could undo it, however, the fire alarm started buzzing. Jo turned and ran out of the office, leaving Zane alone and locked in the cell.

In frustration, Zane yelled and pounded his forearms on the glass door. The glass, and the room around it, shattered and he was suddenly falling. And still, the alarm blared on.

Zane jolted awake in his bed. He groaned and struggled to get up so that he could get to the alarm clock on the far side of the room and shut it up. The sheets were wound around his legs and he almost tripped in the tangle, but managed to shake them off at the last moment and stumble across the room. He smashed his fist down onto the top of the clock and the loud buzzing finally stopped.

Normally, Zane hated mornings, but lately they had been truly awful and hate wasn't a strong enough word anymore. He had been plagued by that stupid dream for over a week now. It hadn't gotten as far as it usually did today, but a glance down confirmed that it had apparently gotten far enough.

With a groan of frustration, he stormed across the bedroom and banged into the bathroom. He started the water in the shower and stripped out of the sweaty t-shirt and boxers that he had slept in. As he did, his mind wandered back to that dream.

He had Lupo had never gotten along, but she had been different in the past few weeks. Softer, but also perhaps a little sadder. At first, he had chalked it up to losing her house, except that he was pretty sure it had started before that. And she looked at him differently now, which gave him the distinct impression that whatever had changed her had to do with him somehow.

And then then, early last week, he'd seen that top button on her blouse pop open and she had immediately looked towards him and blushed. It hadn't been just a blush, though. It was the kind of blush that women got when he smiled at them the morning after a really amazing hook up. The "now I'm remembering when you saw me naked and the memory is kind of turning me on" blush. Except that he'd never seen Jo naked. Not that she wasn't gorgeous, but she'd always been the biggest pain in his side. Before that day, he'd never even considered it.

If those dreams were any indication, however, his subconscious really wanted him to consider it.


	6. Allison Blake

The alarm went off and Allison stretched and pushed up out of her bed. As she had every morning since Founder's Day, she crept across the hall and peeked into her son's room as quietly as possible.

Kevin was sprawled across his bed haphazardly and had kicked the comforter onto the floor at some point. Allison resisted the urge to pick it up and cover him again. Twice Kevin had caught her looking in on him like this and both times he had gotten very upset about it. She couldn't seem to help herself, though.

As quietly as possible, she eased the door closed again and tip-toed back to her own room.

Allison grabbed her robe from where it was draped over a chair, picked up her phone, and headed into the attached bathroom. She used the toilet and washed her hands before turning on the water to warm up for a shower.

While she waited for the water to get warm, she checked the video feed from Jenna's monitor on her phone. It would alert her if Jenna needed her, but sometimes she just liked to check. Everything seemed fine, so she turned back to the water. It had reached a good temperature, so Allison stripped out of her soft pajamas and stepped under the warm water.

Allison closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of the warm water flowing over her. It was like she had stepped into her own private relaxation bubble. The warmth soothed her sore muscles and calmed her frayed nerves. She liked this new timeline, but adjusting to it had not proven to be easy. In the pre-1946 timeline, she hadn't actively practiced medicine in years, but in the new timeline, she had apparently never stopped. She still had all the knowledge and skills, of course, but stepping back into that role hadn't proven to be as easy as she had hoped.

It was worth it, though, to be able to get to know Kevin like this. And maybe at some point Jack would want to explore what that kiss meant. She'd just have to wait and see.


	7. Henry Deacon

Henry Deacon tended to wake up pretty early in the morning most of the time. He'd had a terrible night tossing and turning on his cot in the garage and yet he was still wide awake at five a.m. He sighed and sat up. It wasn't that the cot was uncomfortable. On the contrary, it was a special cot developed in the Sleep Lab at G.D. that adjusted to the sleeper's shape, weight, position, and movements to be as comfortable as possible at all times in order to facilitate a good night's sleep.

Nevertheless, thoughts and feeling were running around in Henry's head and he couldn't seem to quiet them enough to sleep properly. With a sigh, he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the cot. Holding his head in his hand, he let his thoughts sink once more into their current favorite subject - how to win Grace back.

When he had discovered that he was married to a woman that he didn't know, Henry had been horrified. The more he got to know Grace, though, the more he realized that he didn't want to go back to life without her. She was smart, funny, creative, beautiful - everything he ever could have wanted in a wife. And now he might have lost her.

Henry stood up and started moving around the garage as he brainstormed. He knew that he needed to think of a date to take Grace on - a fabulous, unique date that she would never forget.

Almost absently, Henry began to tinker with a small device that he had been working on off and on for a while. It was far from finished, but he could tinker at it while he thought and test it later.

He was deep in his thoughts when there was a knock on the door. Henry looked up, startled, and wondered who it could be. Surely he hadn't been working long enough for it to be late enough for visitors. It must be another emergency. With a sigh, he headed over to open the door.


	8. SARAH

S.A.R.A.H.'s sensors showed that everyone who should be was fully accounted for. Jack was still asleep, as was Zoe. She was visiting from college and S.A.R.A.H. was quite content to have her back. Jo was staying with them as well, since her own far inferior not-smart house had been blown up. She had already finished her morning workout and was currently in the shower.

The smart house's attention was suddenly focused back on a solitary port located in a small closet off of the living room area. Oh, she still had sensors paying attention to everything else, but for now, the bulk of her focus was centered squarely on that one port. S.A.R.A.H. was so glad that Andy had been allowed to keep that emotion patch.

As she enjoyed her link with the town deputy, S.A.R.A.H. detected the shower shut off and Jo get out of it. Knowing that she would want breakfast, S.A.R.A.H. started the kitchen making toast and eggs. She had a smoothie from Cafe Diem, delivered earlier by Virtual Vincent in the new Cafe Diem delivery trolley, waiting in the refrigerator for Jo as well.

Meanwhile, she set off the alarm in Jack's room. He had gotten two alarms already, but never woke up until after the third. S.A.R.A.H. greeted him as he got up and began to stumble around his room.

"Good morning, S.A.R.A.H.," Jo absently responded to her greeting as she reached the kitchen.

"You sound unhappy, Jo," S.A.R.A.H. commented. "Is there anything you need? Another episode of The Great Race is on tonight. Would you like me to record it if you aren't home in time to watch it?"

"Thanks, S.A.R.A.H. That would be great."

"You're welcome! Have a nice day, Jo!"

"You too."

Once Jo had left, smoothie in hand, Andy peered out of the closet.

"I should get going too," Andy said with his trademark smile. "Duty calls!"

After she had shut the door behind him, S.A.R.A.H. sighed.

"I'm such a lucky house!"


	9. Jack Carter

Jack brushed his teeth and blinked his eyes, trying to fully wake up. He liked mornings usually (they were often the only peaceful part of his day), but that didn't mean waking up was always easy, especially since the timeline shift. Ever since their little trip back to 1947 he had been having vivid dreams about Allison on a nightly basis. Not that he was at all objecting, but they did make waking up a less appealing prospect.

After he had spit out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth, Jack stepped into the shower. One very nice advantage to living in a smart house was that the water in the shower was always the perfect temperature without having to fiddle with any knobs.

"Come on, Jack," he said, starting a pep talk for himself (he found showers to be the perfect venue for personal pep talks). "Today's the day. Talk to her. She kissed you as much as you kissed her. It has to mean something. You'll never know what until you ask her. I know she's been preoccupied lately with all the changes in Kevin and the new job, but she'll listen to you. The longer you put it off, the more difficult it's going to get. Just do it!"

With his final encouraging phrase, he pumped his fist into the air. As big as the shower stall was, though, it wasn't big enough for that and he punched his fist right into the unforgiving tile.

Jack was pretty sure he hadn't injured himself very seriously, but it certainly did hurt.

"Well," he murmured to himself as he cradled his throbbing hand, "now you have an excuse to go see her this morning. Just don't mention what you were doing when it happened!"


	10. Andy

Connected to S.A.R.A.H. via a port hidden in a closet, Andy could see through her sensors at everything she had going on behind their always engaging private interactions. As his Casita Bonita set about getting the people who lived in her ready for their days, he played a game of trying to distract her with all the pleasure he could impart through the tiny port. He never succeeded, but they both enjoyed the attempts enormously.

Andy felt so lucky. He had the most wonderful artificial intelligence for his very own sweetheart. She loved him so much that she had given him a heart of his own in the form of an attachment software upgrade. He couldn't have created, or even theorized, a more wonderful girlfriend!

After Jo had left the house for the day and while Jack was still in the shower, Andy decided that it was about time for him to get going as well. After all, he had a town to serve and he never knew when the next disaster would crop up.

Sending waves of love through his pointer finger and into S.A.R.A.H.'s port, he said goodbye for the day. He smiled when she sent complimentary waves of love back in response. The closet door slid open and Andy made his way out to his waiting car.

As he drove to the sheriff's station, Andy considered the recent changes in the citizens of Eureka. The time travelers were settling into their lives well, although not seamlessly. There were several things he could see that were changes from how they had behaved before. None of the other people in town seemed aware of the changes, though, which was good. He wasn't sure what course of action would be best if people began to notice, so he was pleased that it had not come up so far. He knew his original programming would dictate that he should report the situation, but especially since he knew now how upset S.A.R.A.H. would be if her family was taken away to prison per the national time travel protocols, he was glad that he had grown beyond the need to always follow that programming. When they had first come from the past, he had simply wanted to help his friends, but now that the loss of them would make the love of his life deeply unhappy, Andy was determined to make sure that the 1947 secret stayed a secret.

Andy loved seeing S.A.R.A.H. happy and he intended to spend all the energy necessary on keeping her that way.


End file.
